The Bauhaus only existed for 14 years: from 1919 to 1933. Despite this, it became the twentieth century’s most important college of architecture, design and art. For political reasons, fresh starts had to be made repeatedly in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin, but under its three directors – Walter Gropius, Hannes ...

‘Together, we are intending, conceiving and creating the new building of the future …’ Walter Gropius’s founding manifesto is shaped by an educational vision even more than by its architectural and craft vision. The history of the Bauhaus and the development of its programme did not follow a smooth ...

This conceptual diagram showing the structure of teaching at the Bauhaus was developed by Walter Gropius in 1922. The programme places ‘building’ [Bau] at the centre of all the activities. But a regular course in architecture was only introduced at the Bauhaus in 1927. Only the most talented students were ...

During the fourteen years of its existence, the Bauhaus was threatened, contested and persecuted again and again. It was closed for political reasons no fewer than three times. Threats to its existence due to external hostility led to strong internal solidarity. Thus the Bauhaus members achieved the breakthrough to a ...

1919

On 12th April 1919 Walter Gropius signs his contract as Director of the Bauhaus, hitherto Grand-Ducal Saxon College of Fine Arts [Grossherzoglich Sächsische Hochschule für bildende Kunst] in Weimar. He unites it formally with the College of Applied Art [Kunstgewerbeschule], which had already been dissolved in 1915, and gives ...

The Bauhaus was forced to close down in 1933 due to pressure from the Nazis. However, its ideas continued to spread all over the world along with the emigrating Bauhaus members – to the USA, Switzerland, Russia, Israel and many other countries.